Month: October 2021

I think we can all agree, the loss of Robin Williams is still one that just hurts. He had an otherworldly type of quirkiness and charm that is simply irreplaceable. Not to mention a warmth that was like no other.

Luckily, we get to have one more viewing opportunity. One that feels remarkably like watching Williams on screen again. All thanks to a fellow comedian.

Jamie Costa, like Williams, is a jack-of-all-trades in the performing world. His bio describes him as an actor, director, producer, writer, voice actor, filmmaker, comedian and—most important for this story—a very talented impressionist. Though he embodies many well-known characters, Costa’s claim to fame is his uncanny rendition of Robin Williams.

It’s easy to see why. The actor not only bears an eerie physical resemblance to the late comedian, but perfectly matches his (unique) vocal tone to a tee.

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Feel free to grab some tissues and watch it all here:

ROBIN Test Footage Scene

www.youtube.com

If you need further proof, just check out this tribute video Costa put out when Williams passed away in August 2014, titled “Never Had A Friend Like Him.” In the video, Costa masterfully reenacts 20 impressions of Williams’ most well-known characters.

My personal favorites? Alan from “Jumanji” and Peter from “Hook.”

But this next video is pretty breathtaking, and gives us all what feels like an intimate, hidden and never-before-seen aspect of Williams. It feels like watching a bonafide Williams biopic. So much so that many rallied in the YouTube comments calling for it to actually happen.

One user wrote: Please tell me someone is making his biopic and this man is playing the role. Robin Williams would be totally fascinating to better understand, want this. Need this.

Another person, one who clearly had been following Costa’s work, wrote, “Who else has been hoping Jamie would play Robin in a biopic since you saw his first Robin impressions?”

Another simply stated, “This bio needs to be made with Jamie playing Robin.”

The video, simply titled “ROBIN Test Footage Scene” on YouTube, depicts a young Robin Williams (played by Costa) backstage prepping for the “Mork & Mindy” In the scene, Pam Dawber (played by actress Sarah Murphree) gives Williams the tragic news that John Belushi had died.

Unsure how to handle this initial grief, Williams goes into denial, saying “I was with him last night.”

The elephant in the room, of course, is how Belushi died. Instead of coming right out and saying it was an overdose, Dawber simply gives Williams her plea that “I can’t let what happened to him happen to you.”

The clip ends with one of those bittersweet and beautiful “the show must go on” moments. Williams runs his lines in the mirror, fighting back emotion. And for the first time, past the veil of one of his beloved characters, we catch a glimpse of the REAL Robin Williams. The Williams who made the whole world laugh, yet hid away great pain.

Costa does a beautiful job of bringing to life not only the Williams mannerisms and quirks, but also the rich depth and, not to be melodramatic, some of the inner torture as well. It’s beyond an impression; he actually embodies Williams’ essence. And it’s a great service to an artist who gave the world so much.

Great job Jamie Costa. You’ve done the impossible and brought back to life one of the greats.

Who doesn’t enjoy dunking on Ted Cruz? Everyone does it, even stars of his favorite movie, and he never seems to mind nor does he learn from his countless humiliations. On Tuesday, it was Jen Psaki’s turn to roll her eyes at the Texas senator, who has been once again speaking ill of the vaccine mandates that could finally end the pandemic, if people like him could get on board already.

As per Insider, Cruz has been one of a number of Republicans pushing misinformation about the large number of cancelled Southwest Airlines flights over the weekend. They claim it’s due to President Joe Biden’s national mask mandates for large companies. Southwest Airlines denied that, calling their assertions “inaccurate,” saying the real issues were “severe weather problems and air traffic control issues.”

But when has the truth ever stopped Ted Cruz? As he and others continue to float their debunked claim, reporters asked the current White House press secretary what she thought. And Psaki decided to do some Cruz dunking.

“Well, I know world-renowned business, travel and health expert Senator Ted Cruz has made that point,” Psaki replied. “But I wouldn’t say that is widely acknowledged or echoed by business leaders who have implemented these mandates.”

She continued: “It doesn’t mean this isn’t hard and challenging — of course it is. We’re in the middle of a global pandemic,” adding, “But ultimately, the job of the president of the United States is to lead, is to follow the advice of health experts, is to ensure that he is protecting the lives of people across the country.”

Meanwhile, Cruz is in august company, as usual. Another GOP firebrand also repeating the lie about mandates affecting Southwest flights is [drum roll] rootin’ tootin’ Lauren Boebert, who said the nonexistent employees who aren’t defying the law were “standing up for their rights as Americans.” Maybe, if they were real.

(Via Insider)

It’s one of those well-known facts of life: Parenting means having to endure the pain of endless kid song sing-alongs on loops.

Wrestling icon, action star, Disney demigod and tequila aficionado Dwayne Johnson is no exception. The Rock recently shared with fans on Instagram his own version of parental hell, to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

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Johnson’s young daughter Tiana had been giving an in-car concert for so long, he decided to record the torture on his phone.

Detailing his predicament, he wrote in the caption, “Keep in mind I started shooting this after 15 minutes straight of listening to this song. I even tried to draw the note out at the end to give the feeling that the song was ending … Clearly it wasn’t. Ever. Going. To End.”

Then there’s the moment every parent has to face: the false stop. As little Tia seems (key word there) to be coming to an end, Daddy Dwayne’s eyes widen in hope. He tries to really drive it home by elongating the the end note of “dreeeeeeaam” to signify a big finish.

Spoiler alert: It doesn’t finish. It keeps going merrily, merrily, merrily along. At this point, through the forced grin known to many a mom and dad, he says, “You just keep singing baby, I love it.”

Though Johnson’s life was less like a dream—and more like a nightmare—in that moment, he did offer a silver lining of sound life advice in the caption of his post:

“Sometimes we just gotta sit back, laugh and surrender to rowing the boat gently down the f****** stream.”

By the way, it’s not always musical abuse with Johnson and his daughters. There are plenty of times when he gladly participates in sing-alongs. See below:

Dwayne Johnson sings “You’re Welcome” while washing hands with his daughter.

www.youtube.com

Royce and Frankie King have a romance fitting of a Nicholas Sparks novel.

Their marriage happened in the blink of an eye in September 1944, squeezed in during Royce’s two-day leave before going to fight overseas in World War II … with no photos to show for it.

That impromptu wedding turned into an enduring love and a lasting marriage of 77 years. For their anniversary, Royce and Frankie received a special gift from the staff at St. Croix Hospice: their long overdue wedding day photos.

According to the Today Show, the hospice spared no efforts to make their backyard wedding day extra magical. A gorgeous vintage 1940s dress was found for Frankie, and she walked down the aisle holding a fresh bouquet of flowers from their very own patio to classic ’40s tunes played by St. Croix’s music therapist. Their professional photos were even taken by Hilary Michelson, a fellow St. Croix staffer.

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Michelson made a Facebook post about capturing the heartwarming anniversary scene, sharing that she couldn’t help but feel emotional. She wrote that she had “absolutely no shame in the fact that I had a hard time keeping it together behind the lens.”

Hilary wasn’t alone in her sentiment. For many of the staff, the entire ceremony was a heartwarming journey back in time.

St. Croix Hospice CEO Heath Bartness told TODAY, “How can you not have a sense of overwhelming emotion? The connectivity you almost feel that you were a part of this, and thinking back to what it was like in World War II the first time, and how meaningful and how emotional this second opportunity to do this was. There’s an overwhelming sense of pride in not just the company and what the organization did, but more so just as an act of humanity.”

Even the internet was taken aback. In addition to a ton of OMGs accompanied by “happy tear” emojis, Michelson’s post featuring Mr. & Mrs. King received nothing but loving comments.

One user wrote: “Breathtaking moments captured in so many ways.”

Another put, “This is one of the sweetest things I have seen. Thanks to the hospice and all involved for making this their special day. Brought tears to my eyes. Lovely!!”

As for Frankie and Royce?

“They were just very excited and honored that St. Croix would do that for them,” their daughter Sue Bilodeau said to TODAY. “They liked to be in the limelight, dad especially, and mom was so happy to put on a gown and be beautiful. I think they were just overwhelmed at the whole day.”

Bilodeau added that the couple had also partaken in the “first look” ritual. When Royce, dashing in his Air Force uniform, lifted his blindfold to look upon his bride, “he had just the biggest smile the rest of the day. It was amazing,” she said.

She also noted that their kiss was long. Very, very long.

What an uplifting testament that some things really do get better with age. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Yet I think for Royce and Frankie, only one one word will permeate in these photos: love.

Few condiments spark such divided debates as mayonnaise. It’s hard to find someone who is ambivalent about it. You either detest the stuff and want to vom at the mere mention of its name, or you love it so much you’d like to dump it into everything.

Even your coffee.

That’s right, you heard me. Hellmann’s Mayonnaise sent Twitter into an uproar after posting a simple tweet, saying “Mayo in your coffee. That’s it, that’s the tweet.”

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The company actually double downed on its argument.

Where did all of this come from? As with any bizarre culinary trend, it all started with TikTok, after a video of University of Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, @w.lev, putting mayo in his coffee went viral.

The quarterback has chosen to make a public statement regarding the matter:

Other than that, he will not be taking questions at this time.

Previously, Hellmann’s had posted some other out-of-the-box suggestions for mayo, which didn’t cause nearly such a stir. Like its hopeful plea to try mayo on a grilled cheese sandwich. That errs on the side of normal, right?

After all, sandwiches are known mayo territory. But this … this is different. Sure, we all might have sipped a buttered coffee or two, but are we ready to take it to the next level?

For many a horrified Twitterer, the answer was a resounding NO.

It really only got more reactive from there. People were quite triggered, emotionally speaking.

Even Dionne Warwick felt compelled to take a stand, saying, “They want us to put mayonnaise in our coffee. I won’t tolerate it.” Hellmann’s, don’t you realize, this is now a social justice movement?

Some professed their once love and loyalty to the brand, but cited that this was just too much for them. They abandoned the cause. So much for maintaining engagement.

Others chose to go the more objective route and provided scientific evidence as to why this was a very, very, very bad idea.

In the name of fairness, there were others that were definitely Team Caffeinated Mayo, who came to rally.

Their main argument? Well, ya know, mayo can come in handy when you’re out of creamer. I guess for some, the concept of black coffee is just beyond comprehension.

At this point things just started going off the rails. By the end, people were really doing some mental gymnastics to make Hellman’s idea work in the real world.

Some people were just altogether confused on where to put their mayo.

It could be worse. Hellmann’s could have suggested a banana and mayonnaise sandwich. Oh, did you not know that was a thing? There are plenty of other super weird and sure to be gross recipes you can create featuring mayo. You’re welcome.

Coffee is a beloved beverage. It makes mornings, work, life just a little more … tolerable. It’s no wonder people want to protect it. I for one am glad to know that just when I think there can’t possibly be a new coffee trend to try, the internet provides.

Just think of the day someone says to add a dash of ketchup. Oh the chaos…

It’s been a good while since Gina Carano tweeted herself out of a steady Disney gig. Back in February, the MMA fighter-turned-actress aired so many controversial opinions on social media that she was fired from The Mandalorian, where she played resident badass Cara Dune. It took a while for her to bounce back, but bounce back she has, even if it means teaming up with another bad tweeter, far-right hothead Ben Shapiro.

As per Deadline, there are now details about Carano’s long-simmering comeback project, and they are this: It’s a Western called Terror on the Prairie, and it’s being produced by the film wing of the Shapiro-run site The Daily Wire. (Their maiden cinematic voyage was last year’s Run Hide Fight, which of course was a thriller inspired by the Columbine gun massacre.) The movie will begin filming this week.

Along for the ride will be yet another bad Twitter celebrity: Nick Searcy, rightly beloved for his work on Justified but who is also an outspoken conservative with lots of opinions. The movie will be helmed by Michael Polish, the indie auteur who once made a modest splash with the drama Twin Falls Idaho, made with his own twin brother Mark, but who went on to make a religious movie starring Hayden Christensen (90 Minutes in Heaven) and a thriller starring both Emile Hirsch and Mel Gibson. In other words, it’s august company all around.

(Via Deadline)

One of the notable tour announcements that emerged in the post-live music shutdown of the pandemic, was that of Hamilton Leithauser and Kevin Morby joining forces for the super indie gift that is the Fall Mixer Tour. The pair traded covers of each other’s songs this past March and have now released the original collaboration single, “Virginia Beach” ahead of the tour which begins this week.

An uncanny finger picked guitar opens the song before Leithauser comes in with his signature cabaret howl. The hushed Morby takes a turn on vocals and the pair come together over over a melody that sounds more akin to Morby’s home of Kansas City than Leithauser’s in NYC. But the guitars expand, piano add texture and it’s just a welcome union for fans of both artists.

“I wanted to do a modern take on a dark country song which would transform into more of a dark dance groove,” Leithauser said of the song. Morby added that “It was my attempt at evoking Cash and Dylans ‘Wanted Man’ or Barbara Keith’s ‘Detroit or Buffalo,’ or any of those other lost country and rock n roll songs that shout out cities off the beaten path.”

Listen to “Virginia Beach” above and check out the Fall Mixer 2021 tour dates below.

10/14 — Richmond, VA @ The National
10/15 — Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
10/16 — Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
10/18 — Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
10/19 — Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
10/21 — Houston, TX @The Heights Theater
10/22 — Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
10/23 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
10/25 — Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
10/26 — San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
10/27 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel
10/28 — San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
11/01 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
11/02 — Tacoma, WA @ Spanish Ballroom
11/03 — Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
11/05 — Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
11/06 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
11/08 — Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
11/10 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
11/11 — Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
11/12 — Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
11/13 — Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
11/15 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
11/17 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
11/18 — New York, NY @ Webster Hall
11/19 — Boston, MA @ Royale
11/20 — Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
11/22 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
11/23 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

Few films are as loathed as Cats, the star-studded, bewilderingly misjudged movie take on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s deathless feline musical. But you know who hates it more than just about anyone? Andrew Lloyd Webber. The trauma of seeing one of his most successful shows turned into one of cinema’s biggest farts was so traumatic he even bought himself a therapy dog. But it wasn’t all bad for him. After all, he got to write a song with one of today’s biggest musicians.

As per Variety, the musical theater god recently confessed at an event that he quite liked working “Beautiful Ghosts,” a new song for the movie he composed with Taylor Swift, who played the mischievous Macavity.

“It was one of the few enjoyable experiences [on the film],” Lloyd Webber admitted. “It was probably the enjoyable experience.”

Lloyd Webber called Swift, one of many of the film’s stars who somehow escaped unscathed, a “real pro,” and praised her for digging into the source: T.S. Eliot’s poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.

“One of the things I was quite intrigued by, she got to the essence of what T.S. Eliot was about,” Lloyd Webber recalled. “It wasn’t just a lyric thrown together at all. I did enjoy working with her very, very, very much.”

So, good for him, because otherwise, it sounds like Lloyd Webber didn’t have a good time watching one of his shows massacred. He previously trashed the film to Variety. “Cats was off-the-scale all wrong,” he said back then. “There wasn’t really any understanding of why the music ticked at all. I saw it and I just thought, ‘Oh, God, no.’ It was the first time in my 70-odd years on this planet that I went out and bought a dog. So the one good thing to come out of it is my little Havanese puppy.”

In the meantime, Lloyd Webber can console himself with having been a wildly successful musical impresario for the last several decades, with one of them — The Phantom of the Opera — still playing on Broadway after 33 years. Speaking of bad movie musicals…

(Via Variety)

While the comic book industry has made major strides towards greater representation over the course of the last decade or so, there’s no denying yesterday’s Superman news was monumental. To celebrate National Coming Out Day, DC comics announced their current Superman, Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s son, Jon Kent, is bisexual, and will be entering into a romantic relationship with a young, male reporter his comic book series’ (Superman: Son of Kal-El) next few issues. However, while the majority of the internet celebrated the announcement — after all, the depiction of MLM (male-loving-male) relationships in the media is still scarce and ripe with problems — naturally there were a few folks not too happy about the big announcement.

In a recent appearance on Fox & Friends, one-time Superman actor Dean Cain criticized DC comics for confirming Jon Kent as bisexual, calling the move neither “bold or brave.” Cain continued on to say that having a superhero come out in a time where the majority of male superhero stories are still extremely heteronormative, was merely “bandwagoning,” citing just two other LGBTQ+ heroes in an attempt to prove his point.

“They said it’s a bold new direction, I say they’re bandwagoning. Robin just came out as bi — who’s really shocked about that one? The new Captain America is gay. My daughter in [The CW series] Supergirl, where I played the father, was gay. So I don’t think it’s bold or brave or some crazy new direction. If they had done this 20 years ago, perhaps that would be bold or brave.”

For those of you who might be a bit shocked a former Superman would say this, it’s worth noting Cain has become somewhat notorious for his troubling views since departing Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman back in the late 90s, with folks dunking on him as recently as last year for some pretty bad Superman takes. To make matters worse, however, Cain did not stop there and instead insisted on elaborating on what his definition of bravery looked like in comics.

“Brave would be having him fighting for the rights of gay people in Iran where they’ll throw you off a building for the offense of being gay,” Cain continued. “They’re talking about having him fight climate change and the deportation of refugees and he’s dating a hacktivist — whatever a hactivist is. Why don’t they have him fight the injustices that created the refugees whose deportation he’s protesting? That would be brave, I’d read that. Or fighting for the rights of women to attend school and have the ability to work and live and boys not to be raped by men under the new warm and fuzzy Taliban — that would be brave. There’s real evil in this world today, real corruption and government overreach, plenty of things to fight against. Human trafficking — real and actual slavery going on … It’d be great to tackle those issues.”

While there is the smallest sliver of validity to what Cain said (it would be great to see more comic books tackle government/police corruption and overreach, follow heroes protecting marginalized groups, and draw attention to worker exploitation and human trafficking), I’m being very generous in my interpretation and just about all of what’s around it showcases the actor’s intense (and notorious) xenophobia, prejudice, and dismissiveness toward representation being a very real issue.

However, rest assured that all of Cain’s bickering doesn’t change the fact the Superman is now bisexual, nor does it alter the trajectory of the DC universe. Regardless of who dismisses their bold choices, DC and comic book publications as a whole are moving towards a brighter and more inclusive future, and that’s a pretty brave move in and of itself.

The Phoenix Suns and Deandre Ayton have until Oct. 18 to come to terms on a contract extension. If that does not happen, the former No. 1 overall pick will become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2021-22 NBA season, and according to a recent report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the two sides are running into issues.

Woj said that Ayton, who has become a centerpiece to the Suns’ young core that made a run to the NBA Finals last season, believes he deserves a full maximum rookie extension that could pay him up to $207 million over five years. This is the deal that a handful of other players in his draft class have signed, but apparently, Phoenix’s front office does not see things that way.

On Tuesday, Ayton was asked about this, and he stressed that he’s disappointed with how the whole thing has gone.

https://twitter.com/DuaneRankin/status/1448023206300848131

The other members of Ayton’s draft class who have gotten a rookie maximum extension are Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Michael Porter Jr. Of course, as Ayton has made it a point to mention, none of those players have been on a team that has made it to the NBA Finals. Ayton is not the only player on the Suns in line for a big payday, as Mikal Bridges was also selected in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft and has yet to come to terms on a contract extension.